Screech!
The cage door creaked open, and the Horned Rat darted toward the entrance at once, its speed breathtaking.
"Beast! Back!" Elder Bai roared. With a flick of his sleeve, a sharp gust of wind sent the rat tumbling backward. Its claws scraped harshly against the stone floor, producing a grating sound that made everyone wince.
The Horned Rat's eyes blazed red, glowing with ravenous bloodlust.
"Elder… could we switch it? I'm terribly afraid of rats," Zhou Manqing whispered timidly.
Elder Bai's frosty expression did not change. "A switch is permitted."
Zhou Manqing's eyes lit up, ready to thank him—until Elder Bai added, "Return next month, and I shall grant it."
Sniffling, she stepped reluctantly into the cage, muttering, "Dreadful old man, toying with a girl. Just say no if you mean it."
To keep her safe, Elder Bai followed, though he stood watch from a distant corner.
The Horned Rat knew better than to approach him, fixing its glowing gaze on Zhou Manqing instead.
Clang!
She drew her sword and gripped it tightly, yet terror made her hands shake violently. Her fear of rats left her utterly unnerved at the sight of this monstrous specimen.
"Y-you… I'm not afraid of you!" she whimpered. "I'm strong! My sword will cut you!"
Screech!
The beast paid her no heed, lunging forward like a gray bolt of lightning. Its razor-sharp claws sliced through the air toward her throat, while its glinting fangs bared to snap at her skull.
"Ahh!" Zhou Manqing crouched in terror, dodging the lethal strike, but the rat's hind claws still tore six deep gashes across her back.
Tear!
Fresh blood gushed out, and the metallic scent enraged the beast further. Its red eyes blazed brighter, as if to consume her whole.
She turned pale and froze, paralyzed by fear.
"Calm your breath, steady your mind! Fear serves no purpose. Strike it as you would an ordinary rat!" Elder Bai's voice, infused with true essence, jolted her back to her senses.
"Little mouse, climb the lampstand, steals the oil, can't get down… tumble to the ground!" Zhou Manqing chanted a nursery rhyme solemnly, as if reciting a sacred mantra.
Everyone stared in stunned silence, Elder Bai included.
Strangely enough, the simple rhyme steadied her chaotic qi and restored her composure.
Gao Han gaped in surprise. Who would have thought a nursery rhyme could calm the heart more effectively than meditation arts—and cost no more than a piece of candy to learn?
Jianghu experts would have fainted to hear the mighty Ice Hero wished to study nursery rhymes.
The Horned Rat charged again, stronger and swifter than before.
A flash of sword light streaked toward its throat. Zhou Manqing's blade cut through the air with a shrill whine, certain to slay the beast if it did not dodge.
Victory seemed assured—until spiritual energy surged wildly into the horn on the rat's forehead.
The black horn turned silvery-white, gleaming with a hard metallic luster.
The rat lowered its head, meeting the sword with its glowing horn.
Clang!
Sword and horn clashed, sending a small shockwave rippling outward.
Zhou Manqing's strength was no match for the beast's. Her sword was knocked away, and she scrambled backward to evade the piercing horn.
The horn continued its lightning-fast thrust toward her. Just as it was about to pierce her flesh, a hand seized the silvery horn and hurled the rat aside.
It was Elder Bai. He subdued the beast and turned to Zhou Manqing coldly. "You have failed. Leave the cage."
Dejected, she stepped out to watch the others.
Next was An Ruoxuan, also facing a Horned Rat.
His prowess was vastly greater. He dominated the fight from the start, easily countering the very technique that had defeated Zhou Manqing. He endured for the full incense stick and passed.
The third candidate, a Second Layer True Essence cultivator, fought a deadlier foe: the Azure Black Water-Splitting Serpent.
A formidable beast with blade-sharp azure scales, it stretched six meters long and thirty centimeters thick.
He blocked only one strike before being coiled tightly. Elder Bai rescued him just in time, but his body was left covered in lacerations from the serpent's scales.
Fourth was Lin Lin, pitted against the Azure-Eyed Demon Ape.
Agile, immensely strong, and with a physique as tough as a body-refining expert, the ape outmatched her completely. Her inferior lightness skill left her helpless, and she surrendered in under a minute.
Liang Qing also faced the Azure-Eyed Demon Ape. His speed was sufficient, moving like a whirlwind to match the ape's agility. Yet his strength was sorely lacking. After taking just five blows, he spat blood and conceded.
Only Gao Han remained. Elder Bai spoke with grave solemnity. "Are you certain you will not wait until the year-end ceremony?"
Gao Han looked at him in confusion.
Elder Bai sighed. "By the rules, any Third Layer True Essence candidate must battle the most fearsome creature here."
His expression turned uncharacteristically stern as he uttered the name: "The Azure Fiend Bull—a savage, rampaging beast."